CommSec chief economistCraig James said despite ranking last for two indicators, Tasmania had encouraging signs.

“When you go back over the past year Tasmaniawas eighthranked fairly consistently and with a fairly large margin, butnow ithas closed up a bit,” he said.

“There is little to separate fiveof theeightstatesand theireconomies, so Tasmania may be eighthranked but Western Australiais only slightly above and then you’ve got Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.”

He said Tasmania hadsomemomentum supplied to the economy by good activity in the tourism industry.

“I wouldn’t say that Tasmania is actually lifting to catch the other states, but more the fact that we are seeing activity in other state deteriorate,” Mr James said.

TreasurerPeter Gutwein said thereport highlighteda boost in an array of sectors.

“Tasmania has not only improved on every count, but retail spending in particular has grown from strength to strength,” he said.

Shadow treasurer Scott Bacon said the report should be “uncomfortable reading for the Liberal government”.

This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.